With video becoming increasingly more popular it’s important for homebuilders to start engaging with their customers through this channel.

Here are some stats (provided by Syndcast):

74% of all internet traffic in 2017 will be video

69% of smartphone users say videos are a perfect solution for smartphone viewing as it offers a quick way for consumers to grasp an overview of a product

65% of video viewers watch more than 3/4 of a video

3 type of videos we are suggesting for homebuilders:

Star video – Speak directly to your potential customers about you and your company

How to video – What to expect during the homebuilding process from contract to delivery

Testimonial video – Let your happy customers speak on your behalf
If your business is looking to reach more customers with video marketing and social media, contact Ursula Amon with Social Media Consulting CFL, a VBIA affiliate, for a FREE consultation today! 386.527.5089

What is a Spike?The Spike club is an elite group which recognizes those who recruit and retain new members into the local association. Before becoming a Spike you are a spike candidate which means you have between one and five and a half credits. Once you earn your sixth credit, you become an official NAHB Spike!

May is TRIPLE Spike Month!
In May you will receive THREE Spike credits for each new member. You can become a spike with just 2 new members!!

In Praise of the Teen Summer Job

Among the signs of my advancing age is bafflement at hearing younger parents talk about what their teenagers are going to do over the summer. Some mention internships with documentary filmmakers. Others say that their offspring will spend the hot months building latrines in distant corners of the developing world. A few speak of expeditions to measure the disappearance of glaciers or a period of reflection at an ashram in Tamil Nadu.

What on Earth is an ashram? And when did teenagers start doing all these exotic things instead of working summer jobs?

I wish them well, of course, and hope that they build the finest latrines ever to grace the Guatemalan countryside. I should also acknowledge that I wish such opportunities had been available to me when I was growing up.

At the same time, there is value in recalling the grit and glory of traditional summer work, which has taught generations of teenagers important lessons about life, labor and even their place in the universe—which turned out to be nowhere as close to the center as we had imagined.

Most of these jobs were anything but glamorous. Newspaper delivery, for example, was the first rung on many an economic ladder. The paperboy (or girl) had to rise early, pull heavily laden wagons up and down dark streets, and later go door-to-door collecting money from customers. It was amazing how gruff some could be, especially if you had innocently thrown a morning post or two through a window.

Construction work was another staple of the summer circuit, and it taught the glories of digging holes, hauling bricks and watching a house or building slowly fill a hole in the landscape. These jobs also introduced many of us to the phenomenon known as workplace danger. Countless youngsters picked up their first work scars on a construction site.

Capital Club is membership in the HFT Committee, attained through investment of$250,
with the interest in promoting affordable housing and improvement of local government.

Benefits of Membership

NAHB is pleased to announce the launch of our newest member benefit program with eMemberBenefits. They provide discounted wireless service offerings from Verizon, Sprint, AT&T and T-Mobile. This unique program offers a wide range of benefits to members including: discounts averaging 35% for members, free mobile to any mobile calling, free mobile device management through an online portal, dedicated 24/7/365 help desk support and much more.

FHBA Rebates!

Attention Builders and Remodelers: Get money for products you already use! The FHBA's Member Rebate Program is a free member benefit available to all active Builder and Remodeling Members.

Top 3 scores of the Parade were awarded to Hickson Construction for
The Osprey, Fretwell Construction for the Mimosa Grande IV and
to Chinelli Design and Build, LLC. for Belle Ferme in DeLand.

The Osprey was also featured by our Parade Diamond Sponsor,
Florida Public Utilitiesin their 2015 commercial this year!

SEBC Attendee Registration is Now Open!

Register today and join us at the Rockin' New Southeast Building Conference (SEBC) July 16-18 in Orlando, FL! Experience our vibrant Expo Show with the latest building products and services, Hospitality Suites, Education Tracks, Celebrity Guests, Giveaways on the Main Stage and more.

Panera Bread founder and CEO Ron Shaich says that maintaining competitive advantage is his top priority as a leader.

"If we don't have a reason for people to walk past competitors and come to Panera, then we don't exist,"Shaich tells Business Insider. "Losing competitive advantage is the greatest risk in business, and that's where our focus is."

In 1981, Shaich oversaw just four cafe locations in the Boston area. Over the years and after several iterations, Panera has grown to nearly 2,000 locations in the US and Canada, 80,000 employees, and a market capitalization of $4.5 billion.

But, as any business grows, it gets harder to maintain competitive advantage.

When a company first starts out, it's full of what Shaich calls "discovery people," or folks that are always trying to figure out "where the world is going."

As a company matures, "delivery people" begin to take over, he says. They focus on "limited risk" and sustaining the business, and stick to the language of "what happened yesterday."

The key, Shaich says, is to never let that get out of balance, so that you don't wake up one day and realize that the company has become exclusively "delivery" and not at all "discovery."

"I view my role as CEO as protecting those that discover ways to build competitive advantage," Shaich says. "Our job as leadership is to protect and enable leaps of faith, making sure the company is there when the future arrives."

Bonded Builders Warranty Group (BBWG) was established in 1989 and we are celebrating our 26 year anniversary. BBWG offers builders’ warranties on new site and systems built homes, condominium and townhome warranties and remodeling warranties. Our warranty products set clear standards for homebuilders and their customers, providing a reliable and highly effective process for resolving disputes without litigation which we call Conciliation.

Our line of products will make it easier for you to focus on your business, building homes and building your reputation. We’ll focus on protecting you and your customer’s investment.

The Bonded Builders corporate family is an active voice in the building industry, bringing together the interests of consumers and builders to protect the dream of home ownership.

BBWG is proud to be a part of Bankers Financial Corporation family of companies, protecting the interests of builders, homeowners, consumers, and investors. Bankers Insurance Group provides builders with Contractors General Liability and Builders Risk insurance products.

Since 1976, Bankers Financial Group has issued over 20 million warranties, protection plans, insurance policies, surety bonds, contract and commercial bonds and annuities.

Solid employment gains, attractive mortgage rates, a growing economy and pent-up demand will help keep the housing market moving forward throughout 2015 and into next year, according to economists who participated in yesterday’s NAHB 2015 Spring Construction Forecast Webinar.

“This should be a good year for housing, buoyed by sustained job growth, rising consumer confidence that is back to pre-recession levels and a gradual uptick in household formations,” saidNAHB Chief Economist David Crowe. “We expect 2016 to be even better, due to a significant amount of pent-up demand and an economy that will be entering a period of reasonable strength and consistency.”

Over the past seven years, Crowe estimates the slow recovery and uncertainty in the job and housing markets resulted in 7.4 million lost home sales. “While some of these sales will never take place, this does indicate how many saleswere lost as fewer households decided to move. We expect at least some of these to return in the form of new home sales as job and economic growth continue to firm.”

A key demographic to help jump-start this process should come from the millennials.

The share of first-time home buyers has traditionally averaged around 40% but in the aftermathof the housing downturn it now stands at just under 30%. First-time buyers are expected to provide a boost to the housing market, as the unemployment differential between young people and others is shrinking, Crowe noted.